Chapter 26: The Deceased
"He said ten days. I suppose today counts as 'Day Zero'?" Lin Ju said, switching the hand covering her mouth and nose. "If you go out now, you won't be able to see the road clearly in a little while. There are no streetlights here, after all."
Qi Xia knew Lin Ju had a point, so he quietly walked to the side and found a clean shelf to sit on.
He really had been too anxious. He'd even forgotten to check the time.
But he couldn't wait to escape this damned place and see his wife.
To see Yu Nian'an.
To see that girl who loved wearing white clothes.
"Xiao An, I'll get out of this hellhole soon," he murmured to himself. "Just wait. We'll have money soon."
Qi Xia's expression was always different from the others. He wasn't panicked, he wasn't sorrowful—just a little impatient.
As the sky darkened, everyone found clean spots to sit down.
Fortunately, the nights here weren't cold. They were just hungry. Having gone nearly a whole day without food or water, everyone felt weak.
No one spoke anymore. They simply watched the earthy-yellow sun slowly set, the world plunging completely into darkness.
The day's experience felt like a terrible nightmare to everyone. They all fantasized that when they opened their eyes again, all the strange phenomena before them would disappear.
The entire city seemed to have fallen silent, as if brewing something. They could hear a faint rustling sound in the distance, but couldn't make it out clearly.
It was so dark here. So dark they couldn't tell if their eyes were open or closed.
Everyone had grown up in the city, never experiencing a night so pitch-black that they couldn't see their own hands.
"Con man, you asleep?" Qiao Jiajin's voice suddenly came from not far from Qi Xia.
"What is it?"
"Tell me... are there other 'participants' here?"
Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then replied, "I've thought about that too. 'The Dragon' said that millions of people have come through the door. Logically, there should be more than just us nine here..."
Qiao Jiajin was quiet again for a moment, then asked, "That female shopkeeper... could she be someone who came through the door before?"
"Hm?" Qi Xia was slightly taken aback. He'd never considered that direction. After all, that woman looked like she'd been living here for many years.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't contradictory. Whether someone was brought here ten years ago or ten days ago didn't really matter. What mattered was that, according to "The Dragon," this place would be annihilated in ten days.
They might have different starting points, but the destination was the same.
Fortunately, they probably wouldn't end up completely insane like that female shopkeeper. After all, they only had to stay here for ten days.
No matter what, in ten days, they would see the "result."
"Con man? You asleep?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
Qi Xia ignored him, instead turning his head to the side, seriously pondering the day's events.
What was the reason behind all this strangeness?
Getting no reply from Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin didn't push his luck and gradually fell silent.
After a while, two more people started talking in the darkness. It sounded like Dr. Zhao and Officer Li.
"Dr. Zhao..."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to ask... if a woman has been malnourished for a long time, can she still conceive?"
Dr. Zhao was silent for a moment, understanding what Officer Li meant. The female shopkeeper looked like she hadn't eaten properly in a long time, so how could she have given birth?
Others seemed interested in this question too, silently waiting for his answer.
Dr. Zhao organized his thoughts and said, "This is a complex issue. If a woman is malnourished for an extended period, it can easily lead to irregular menstruation, or even amenorrhea. In other words, lacking basic nutrients can prevent ovulation, making conception naturally impossible."
"So... is this another thing that science can't explain?" Officer Li asked in a heavy voice. "That female shopkeeper's physical condition seems terrible."
"We can't jump to conclusions. In some regions of Africa, people's nutrient intake is also very low, yet they have relatively high birth rates..." Dr. Zhao sighed. "But this isn't really my area of expertise. It involves individual constitutions and key nutrient intake. I don't know much about it."
Officer Li didn't say anything more after that, and fell quiet.
Everyone in the room sank back into silence.
Qi Xia hadn't planned on sleeping, but when you completely lose your sense of sight, your perception blurs, and eventually your mind stops thinking.
Accompanied by the faint "rustling" sound from the street, Qi Xia's eyelids grew heavy.
He didn't know exactly when he fell asleep. In his dream, he saw Yu Nian'an's figure.
"Xia, you know? There are many roads in this world, and everyone has their own path."
"Yes, Xiao An, I know." The Qi Xia in the dream nodded. "I'll be out soon. Just wait."
He didn't know how much time had passed when a tremendous bell sound, almost right next to his ear, exploded like a thunderclap.
Qi Xia opened his eyes and hurriedly stood up, noticing that outside, the sky had already brightened.
He turned around. Everyone else was startled, looking around just like Qi Xia. The bell had been too loud; it had woken them all.
"What's going on?!" Xiao Ran instinctively hid behind Officer Li.
Before anyone could react, a strange coughing sound came from the corner of the room.
It sounded like someone coughing with a mouthful of water.
Dr. Zhao realized the sound was coming from behind him, so he slowly turned around—and saw a terrifying sight.
Han Yimo was lying on the ground. A pure black greatsword was embedded in his abdomen. The sword was like a nail, pinning him firmly to the floor. The blade seemed to have been driven in with great force, half of it buried in the ground.
Blood was spurting from his mouth as he coughed uncontrollably.
"Hey! Writer!" Qiao Jiajin rushed over to check on him.
"Cough... Qi... Qi Xia..." Han Yimo reached out a hand. His voice sounded unnatural—not in pain, not in fear, but rather in confusion.
Qi Xia frowned slightly, then walked over and crouched down, taking Han Yimo's hand.
"I'm here," he replied, lifting his head to look at the building's ceiling as he spoke.
The entire ceiling was intact. This black greatsword didn't seem to have fallen from above.
Han Yimo's lips moved slightly. His eyes began to glaze over. After a choked sob, he started crying.
"This... this place is wrong... Qi Xia... cough... this couldn't have happened... this 'Seven Black Sword'... absolutely... cough... impossible... Qi Xia... the 'Seven Black Sword' is not..."
His coughing grew louder and louder. He couldn't get a complete sentence out. Blood gushed from his mouth and flowed back into his nose.
Han Yimo coughed violently a few more times, then his whole body stiffened, and he lost all signs of life.
When it's hard to breathe, just a few words take all your strength.
Yes... a truly dying person doesn't have that much time to leave a final message.
What followed was silence.
A long, long silence.
Everyone knew Han Yimo must have had much more to say, but the time he had wasn't enough. A living life had just died before everyone's eyes.
Seeing Han Yimo's lifeless eyes, Qi Xia frowned. Suddenly, a splitting pain shot through his head.
He crouched down, clutching his forehead, feeling as if something was about to burst out of his skull. He let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"AHHH——!!"
Before everyone could process the fact that Han Yimo was dead, Qi Xia's scream startled them even more.
"Con man, you alright?" Qiao Jiajin asked cautiously.
After half a minute of silence, Qi Xia slowly steadied his breathing and said, "I'm fine... let's focus on Han Yimo first..."
Seeing that Qi Xia seemed to be okay, everyone turned back to look at Han Yimo's body, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.
A thought kept circling in their minds.
Were they really dead?
If they were already dead, could they die again?
"Han Yimo... was killed..." Xiao Ran said quietly.
The phrase "was killed" jolted everyone awake.
Yes. The issue now wasn't about "dying after death"—it was about the "murderer."
When Han Yimo was found, he was still conscious. That meant the greatsword had just been thrust into his abdomen a moment ago.
In other words, the person who killed him hadn't gone far. More likely, they were hiding among the remaining eight people.